We Are (digitally becoming) Spectacle(s)

Co-presented by

Fully Supported by

A timed speculation of bodies and voices through the digital frames

After months of disruption under the pandemic, there is an unprecedented consumption of  visual stimulations on the internet, which aligns with the conceptual exploration of We Are Spectacle(s). The creative cast of Unfolding Images: We Are Spectacle(s) will host an open rehearsal using video conferencing tool, and meanwhile it will be broadcasted on social media platforms, to reconstruct the rehearsal process in the virtual world with fragmented focus and multiple viewing angles, creating another form of online participation in performing arts.

Echoing Joseph Lee’s acclaimed solo contemporary dance piece Folding Echoes, this time, rather than embarking on a one-man journey, Lee teams up with five performers to explore and examine the various bodily gestures as a form of experiment in his latest offering Unfolding Images: We Are Spectacle(s). Drawing references from the concept of portrait photography as a starting point, Lee and his performers probe the delicate relations between a performer and a spectator, and the peculiar desire to see and be seen. Before the premiere in 2021, the open rehearsal session We Are (digitally becoming) Spectacle(s) repositions one’s desire to be looked at on a screen, and invites the audience to peep into the creative process. The performers will be placed wandering in different corners of Tai Kwun, together with the cameras, to take viewers on a virtual tour. The physical bodies of the performers and the virtual image will coexist in real time, providing the gaze and representation at different distances in reality, using the relationship between daily gestures and the cameras to perform durational and nearly static movements, to explore another dimension of online screening performance, and look at the ambiguity of familiarity and alienation in it.

Registered audience shared their thoughts with the performers directly at the chat box during live streaming, a post-performance discussion has been conducted for audiences sharing with the creative team.

Creative Team

Concept & Choreography: Joseph Lee*
Scenography: Samuel Chan
Music Director & Sound Design: Lawrence Lau
Creation & Performance: Leung Tin Chak, Li Ka Man, Chan Wai Lok, Holmes Cheung, Woo Yat Hei
Rehearsal Assistant: Skinny Ng
Artistic Advisor: Suyin Kan
Production Manager: Karen Kwong
Stage Manager: Ho Tak Ching
Co-Producer: Michael Li, Fontane Yiu

*Appearance by kind permission of Unlock Dancing Plaza

Remark

• Recommended for ages 6 and above
• Approximately 1.5 hours
• Presented in Cantonese with no surtitles
• The presentation will be conducted via Zoom, participants may need to download and install the required software and bear the risk
• The registration will be closed 2 days before the presentation. Limited quota on a first-come-first-served basis
• The organiser will contact successful registrants at least 1 day before the performance via email. Please provide valid email address in order to facilitate timely and effective communications

Joseph Lee
Choreographer

Joseph Lee began his dance training at the age of seventeen. He graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong with a bachelor in Professional Accountancy, then obtained his Master of Arts in Contemporary Dance at The Place, London Contemporary Dance School in the UK in 2015. He joined the Unlock Dancing Plaza as resident artist until 2020 when he was appointed as Associate Art Director. Lee is active in expanding the audience's imaginary horizons of choreography by creating and performing with the body and other alternatives. His recent interests lie in the reading, transfer and re-enactment of bodily experience and in questioning the performance nature of everyday life in our contemporary society.